The Best Of Everything

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Bet On The Food

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Celebrity

Shawl-00111
7096 East Fourteen Mile Road

8/30
2002

90

(Between Mound &Van Dyke)

(586) 268-3200

1000 410•11141000

As Las Vegas eateries doll up,
the tourists dress down.

Steakhouse was an interest-
sually when visiting
ingly different experience.
Las Vegas, I return
Two Samba dolls on the
with more accolades
table dictate as to whether
about one of my
or not you want food
favorite cities.
brought to you.
This time, however, the raves
A green doll Means bring
are accompanied by changes for
more ... and a red doll says
the not-so-better.
stop ... In Brazil, green and
The growth of Las Vegas has
D A NNY
red discs are used.
certainly added much more
RAS KIN
To the table are brought
glitter ... but may have taken
Local Columnist bread spreads of olive oil and
away some of the charm that
banana ... and salsa with gar-
once was its greatest attraction.
lic and olive oil.
Large glamorous hotels will never
Then comes the Samba salad with
replace that allure.
artichokes, radicchio, feta, beets, cici
Gone are the days when people
dressed up ... especially on the weekends beans, lettuce, tomatoes, etc. ... all cut
and chopped in very small pieces.
to enjoy nights on the town.
With the green doll up, servers come
Or when casual, it was with neatness
around with their skewers filled ... each
and a more dressed-up type of look.
with chicken or lamb or beef or steak
Today, it is like so many don't care
or turkey or sausage or ribs or fish, etc.
anymore how they look ... Shoddily
This is called an all-you-can-eat
dressed ... wearing shorts ... no socks ...
Rodizio
experience ... The unique
torn jeans ... etc. ... etc. ... etc.
Brazilian style of barbecue has all the
Too many young girls now look like
the vamps of yesteryears with uplifts
pushing out their chests just barely above
the tops of their multi-mini-miniskirts.
Most of the entertainers today are,
at best, mediocre ... Name stars are
few ... Some of the production shows
are still number-one attractions that
are worthy of attendance.
Many of the others are sad reflections
of money-saving attempts ... Too bad ...
Even in the hardest of times ... the
Depression and war years, Las Vegas
always glittered with show biz at its best.
The food, though, doesn't take a back
seat to yesteryears ... It is better today
than ever ... as the world's finest chefs
wear their toques with much pride.
Some of the standbys are still there
I... And still very good ... Like Freddy
Glusman's Piero's on Convention
Center Drive ... with its excellent veal
chops and authentic Italian dishes ...
--chicken and eggplant parmigiana lay-
ered with pomodoro sauces and moz-
zarella cheese ... or Nero's in Caesar's
Palace with its lobsters flown in every
day ... or the elegant Michael's at
Barbary Coast with great steaks and
classic continental cuisine ... or
Mirage's Renoir with innovative French
dishes ... or Savanna at the Tropicana
with its delicious all-around selection.
At the Mirage, where we stayed this
trip, dinner at the Samba Brazilian

courses skewered and slowly roasted
over coals ... They are served in ran-
dom order along with the traditional
black beans and rice, fried plantains,
creamed spinach and tarofa carrots.
Chef Rubin Lopez is a good one ... as
emphasized by his chili-crusted crab
cakes and the crispy coconut prawns
with fire and ice mango coulis ... The
creamy chicken and Brazil nut soup is a
Rio de Janeiro standout.
One of our cab drivers, Jeff Richman,
recalls coming to Las Vegas when the
population was around 150,000 ...
Between 1985 and 1995, it jumped
from 186,380 to 368,360 ... and the
prediction today is that Las Vegas will
have two million residents by 2005.
Jeff, an Orthodox Jew, tells of there
now being 15 synagogues in T as Vegas
... with three of them Orthodox ... one
of which he and his family are members.
The Glatt Kosher Deli, across from
Treasure Island on the Strip, is one of
his favorites ... as is the Shalom Hunan
Glatt Kosher Chinese restaurant on
Flamingo Road and Decatur.
About the shows, one of them, called
the Blue Man Group at the Luxor, is a
sad attempt at entertainment ... Yet it is
acclaimed as one of the best attractions
that Las Vegas now has to offer.
Follies Bergere at the Tropicana is the